This invention relates to toothbrushes. More particularly, the invention is concerned with an apparatus facilitating the use of ultrasonic energy to assist an otherwise manual toothbrush in loosening and removing soft plaque from the teeth of the user on a substantially daily basis. A specific concern of the invention is an apparatus that carries the bristle clusters, which is readily replaceable as wear of the bristles occur. Another concern is the therapeutic treatment of oral tissue, and specifically treatment and prevention of mouth sores. Yet another concern is to provide particular configurations to remove plaque, to treat gingivitis, and to prevent or treat aphthous stomatitis commonly known as canker sores.
Numerous attempts have been made to develop an apparatus to remove plaque or tartar from the surface of the teeth. Some of the devices utilized sonic and/or ultrasonic energy. The devices utilizing sonic or ultrasonic energy can be grouped into three distinct categories.
One approach is the utilization of only fluids as a medium of energy transmission and plaque removal by placing an ultrasonic transducer into the middle of the mouth. This approach is impractical and physiologically dangerous due to the high energy levels it requires to be effective in absence of any mechanical scrubbing, and the uncontrolled, variable, user dependent distance between the transducer and the teeth. A typical example is U.S. Pat. No. 3,760,799.
The second approach is the application of ultrasonic energy to vibrate the toothbrush. While these teachings are aged, no application to date has demonstrated the practical feasibility of carrying out the science in this manner. The significant drawback of some of these proposals is that the toothbrush or applicator is solidly attached, otherwise fixed to the transducer, making replacement of the brush difficult and expensive, taking the device out of the economically affordable daily dental hygiene device category for the general population. Examples of these devices can be found in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 4,192,035, 4,333,197 and 4,787,847.
The third and only theory reduced to practice to date is to remove hardened or calcified plaque colonies from the surface of the teeth on infrequent periodical basis. This art has been made available to professional dentists in the form of a high energy device that couples the ultrasonic energy to the teeth by a metal probe. While safe in the hands of the highly skilled and professionally trained dentists or hygienists, these devices are not suitable for daily use by the general population. Such devices could case damage to the surface of the teeth and the surrounding tissue when utilized by untrained novice consumers. What has occurred to date is that notwithstanding the teachings of the prior art, the ability to utilize ultrasonic energy to assist the consumer in the daily maintenance of oral hygiene in a safe and effective manner has remained unsolved.
In addition, the treatment of mouth sores in the oral cavity generally requires separate therapy which is time consuming and inconvenient. A combined cleaning and tissue therapy general purpose instrument is disclosed in U.S. Patent application Ser. No. 08/084,979. In some instances optimum treatments for the different therapeutic needs of different individuals may require a more specialized instrument.